Newsom: California must boost water recycling, desalination

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s governor wants the state to invest tens of billions of dollars in water recycling, storage and desalination to shore up its supply over the next two decades. Gov. Gavin Newsom was set to announce the plan Thursday at a desalination plant. The state predicts its water supply will decrease 10% by 2040 as the U.S. West gets hotter and drier. Interest in recycling treated wastewater for drinking is growing across the West. California is in the third year of a drought and the state’s 39 million people aren’t conserving as much water as Newsom wants.